Benitez, 59, had grown sick of disagreements over transfer policy, the club's training ground and Ashley's commitment to progressing beyond yearly relegation battles before deciding to leave at the end of his contract.
It means Newcastle will be without a boss from Sunday, hours before they begin pre-season training next week, and with club bosses yet to begin work on finding a successor.
Sportsmail understands Benitez, a hugely popular figure among supporters, had lost trust in Ashley and was concerned about whether he was bothered about building the club into a team who could realistically compete in the Premier League.
Benitez wanted the power to sign the players who he saw fit, while the club's stance was to sign those who were under 25-years-old and who had a sell-on value.
Benitez has spent just over three years in charge since replacing Steve McClaren in March 2016.
However, plans to extend his tenure have ceased following a lack of rapprochement between Ashley and the Spaniard.
There had been minimal progress in discussions at the end of the season and Benitez was resigned to the fact that his time at the club was over given the longstanding inability to agree on how best to approach the transfer market.
And on Monday, Newcastle confirmed his fate with a statement short statement speaking of their 'disappointment'.
'It is with disappointment that we announce manager Rafael BenÃtez will leave Newcastle United upon the expiry of his contract on 30th June 2019,' it read.
'We have worked hard to extend Rafa's contract over a significant period of time, however it has not been - and will not be - possible to reach an agreement with Rafa and his representatives.
MailOnline
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